Monday, April 25, 2011

I hope you had a wonderful Easter weekend. We now turn our attention to what lies just 19 days ahead!:

· Pray for Rolando and the final detailed planning he is doing for our trip. Satan is quite opposed to the work we are doing in Nicaragua, and Rolando needs prayers for wisdom, protection and victory.
· Pray for the Local pastors and their spouses that Mark Davis and his mother Kitty Davis will be ministering to at pastor’s conference - that they will be encouraged, refreshed, and renewed both in their marriages and in their ministry as pastors.
· Pray for the national doctors we will be working with - that we can bond with them quickly and minister to them and through them effectively.

Updates:
· · During the week we will be staying in Matagalpa, with plans to be in the Praderas hotel. I was not able to find a whole lot about the Praderas hotel on the internet, but if you have time please do a little on-line research on Matagalpa, as it is a very interesting place.

· Reminder – please be enlisting a prayer team of 10-15 faithful intercessors to begin praying specifically for you and our team. Themes for intercessors prayer include: Team unity, favor with the local officials, responsive hearts from the patients, a strong national team of pastors to complement our efforts, as they lead in the evangelism and discipleship follow up, national doctors who will partner with us, team health & protection, a servant heart, teachable spirit, and flexible attitude.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

From Jeff Presley (Our group leader) Hello, GHO Team –Sorry for not getting this note off to you sooner – it’s been a little chaotic around here lately. I hope that this week is one of renewed hope and wonder for all of you as we approach Good Friday and Easter morning. I pray that God will fill you with His joy as you celebrate Christ’s resurrection, and that we will in turn share that same joy with the folks we are about to meet in Nicaragua.This will be an abbreviated update, though we are just 24 days away from heading out…..· Pray for Matt Overley (trip Medical Director), for wisdom as he oversees the medical component of our trip and as he prepares Continuing Medical Education (CME) for the team.· Pray that trip expenses for all team members will come in on time, and that we will all clearly see God’s hand in His provision for us in this way.· Pray for the translators we will be working with - that we can bond with them quickly and minister to them and through them effectively.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Here is some information from an email from Jeff Presley, our group leader, regarding the upcoming medical missions trip that I will be going on with my son, Preston, in May. I will be posting the prayer points for the trip here - please let me know if you would like more information about this trip or how you can become involved with this ministry.

Hello, GHO Team –

Hope you had a good week! We will be leaving 4 weeks from Saturday, and things continue to fall into place. I have heard some neat stories on fundraising; keep praying for each other in this area. On a sadder note, one of our dental team members, Grace Chung (from the UK) has had to back out of the trip; she was trying to do back to back trips and she was not able to do both. She will get to head to Honduras with a GHO team - do pray for her and her team on their trip in May.

Prayer items for the week of April 11-17:

· Pray for Mark Davis (trip pastor) and the planning/preparation work he is doing for the trip.· Pray for the health and strength of the team members leading up to, during, and after the trip.· Pray for the people of Matasanos, Nicaragua - that the medical mission in May will minister to them physically and spiritually.

Monday, April 11, 2011

I was able to take advantage of the beautiful day today and get the bike out of the garage. I took a 50 mile ride through Shaftsbury, over to White Creek, through Hoosick and down to Pownal on 346 before heading home. The roads were in good shape, and I was pretty cautious with some of the gravel and frost heaves out there.

I made an unfortunate discovery - a mouse that was hanging out in the garage decided to make it's way into the saddlebag and eat a few holes into my rain pants! I am on the lookout for some black duct tape to seal them up for now; Lena might be able to sew them back together... Lesson learned - move my motorcycle items to storage over the winter next year!

Looking forward to more rides as the weather improves and more of my buddies get out on the road. Yet again I want to get the guys and gals out for lunch - maybe that will happen this year ...

Monday, April 04, 2011

Here is some information from an email from Jeff Presley, our group leader, regarding the upcoming medical missions trip that I will be going on with my son, Preston, in May. I will be posting the prayer points for the trip here - please let me know if you would like more information about this trip or how you can become involved with this ministry.

Hello, GHO Team –As of April 4th, we will be forty days away from flying to Managua to serve in whatever ways God has prepared for us (Eph. 2:10). Forty days was a significant time period in the Bible, and I would like to think these next forty days for us will be most significant for us as we prepare our hearts and minds for His service. Let’s be very purposeful to pray these next forty days for God’s blessing on the trip, for each other, and for the people we will be ministering to and those ministering with us (Nicaragua GOH staff, translators, and the local church pastors and church members). I will be asking you to pray for different things each week between now and May 14th; for the week of April 4-10 please pray:

· For Rolando Castillo and the planning/preparation work he is doing for the trip· For the trip funding for all of the team members· For the team members to prepare spiritually for this trip, “setting aside every encumbrance” and to begin the “race set before us” (Heb. 12:1)

Don't Be Like Mike

Thankful that God has granted me a second chance (quite a few, actually) through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I love the Lord, my family, and enjoy endless laps of swimming and circles on a motorcycle. Follow Jesus.